More than 50 people from the Catholic Diocese of Rockford attended the dual canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II on Sunday in Rome.

Sharon Boehlefeld, features and multimedia editor of The Observer, the diocese’s newspaper, blogged about the trip on Facebook and interviewed a few people so the Register Star could include their comments with its coverage.

Boehlefeld sent the following vignettes via email:

Carl Ambrusco, a member of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Rockford, decided to walk to the Vatican about 10:30 p.m. Saturday. He made his way into St. Peter Square for the Mass.

“It was just mesmerizing, the energy, the love. People really did love those popes individually. I prayed for St. Anthony of Padua Parish and others that I said I would pray for. I basically prayed for Rockford,” he said.

Early on, she said, there were times when the crowd was pushing, shoving and talking, but “at the consecration, you could not hear a word. And at the (greeting of) peace, there were so many languages.”

“There was a flag I didn’t recognize, and I asked where they were from, and they were from Ukraine, and she said, ‘Pray for us, we really need prayers,’” Calgaro said.